


Canis Lupus Unfamiliaris

by stabbitytuesday



Series: Canis Lupus Unfamiliaris [2]
Category: Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Gen, Mentions of canon character death, Spoilers for Crooked Kingdom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-28
Updated: 2019-07-13
Packaged: 2019-10-18 10:10:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17578901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stabbitytuesday/pseuds/stabbitytuesday
Summary: A Fjerdan direwolf in Ketterdam, or: Nina gets a pet, kind of.





	1. Inej

**Author's Note:**

> A barely proofread, entirely unintentional sequel series to Isenulf, because the potential to amuse myself with their reactions to meeting a real life wolf was too much to pass up. Enjoy, comment, all that jazz, at the moment I'm planning a short chapter for each of the crow kids.

It was night when Nina finally made it back aboard the ship, and almost colder than she could ever remember being as she hauled the rowboat up with the help of a few of the crew of the Wraith. If they wondered why it was harder than it had been a few hours prior, maybe they chalked it up to the struggle of defying gravity, rather than giving in to it, or maybe they just thought better than to mention it until the Grisha was safely on board and they were out of her sight.

They likely did not anticipate the snarling monster standing beside her as she boarded, restrained only by Nina’s hand clamped in the fur at it’s neck. “He’s fine, it’s fine, just back up, I don’t need help!”

The slightly desperate edge to her voice did not sound fine. At all. But then, the cook’s boy and the barrel chested old Fabrikator were hardly equipped to tell her otherwise, and they obeyed perhaps a little too thoroughly, vanishing from the largely empty deck to hide below. Speaking in low tones, Nina ran her hand over the wolf’s great head, praying he had enough training left that she could control him and keep him hidden until they got back to Ketterdam.

Hidden from the rest of the crew, at least. There was little to no chance that Inej wouldn’t know about him by morning, and have already made a decision as to how to proceed.

“We’ll just have to be on your best behavior, won’t we? You were a good dog, you know how to act around people, even when you don’t want to. You’ll like Inej, anyway, she’s good people.”

“Do you think he knows what that means?”

Nina turned, annoyed at herself for being caught off guard by the voice in the darkness, and smiled as charmingly as she ever had before at her best guess of it’s source, “Of course he does, he’s not a wild animal, he’s a well trained and delightful companion.”

Only the soft thud of weight onto the deck boards gave away where Inej had landed, and it was obvious that had been a courtesy to both Nina and the wolf at her side, still baring his teeth. “What happened, Nina?”

Neither of them could have anticipated how that soft question, spoken with so much concern, would bring tears to Nina’s eyes she thought she had tamped back down into their place. Perhaps Trassel could have, if he’d understood anything through the barrage of smells and the acrid clash of fear and sadness tinting the air, but he was a wolf and couldn’t have helped anyway.

“He knew Matthias. I couldn’t leave him to die.” It wasn’t much of an explanation, and it did little to chase away the myriad valid concerns Inej was mentally sifting through in the most Kaz-like way possible, but it, along with their friendship and the trust they’d formed through blood and fire, was enough to give Inej at least a night’s worth of leeway to the giant beast watching her warily.

“Don’t let it eat my crew, please? It wouldn’t do well for morale.”

“Right, that was the plan, not letting him eat anyone. I guess it could be helpful to have him around to eat people we don’t like, though, right?”

Inej considered, lifting herself back up into the ropes towards the crow’s nest. “It really could. We can work on it. Maybe let’s focus on not eating anyone at all for a bit.”

“Right. No eating, okay?” It was impressive, really, how human an animal could be sometimes. Nina could swear she saw a glint of sardonic amusement in his eyes as he padded by her side, back to the little room all her own now.


	2. Kaz

Was it the mark of a truly great leader that Kaz was so talented at expressing himself without having to do more than lurk in the door behind her, or was it the mark of an excellent con man that the only sign he had entered the room was the soft pad of his footsteps on impossibly soft carpet, and only Nina’s long acquaintance with him gave away the horrified resignation written on his face as clear as crystal as she turned.

“Care for some toast? I think there’s some tea left, too, if you’d like. Or I can make a pot of coffee.”

“Nina.”

“I have some of those preserves Inej and I picked up on the way back from Shu Han, but you’ll need to make an excellent case as to why I should share, I have a very limited stock.”

“What is that thing.”

 

Nina set aside her book, a smutty little piece of fiction she’d intended to give as a gift and gotten sidetracked by, smiling blandly, “Could you be more specific?”

“The dog, Nina.”

“Wolf.”

Nina felt, rather than heard, Kaz sigh. “Wolf. Fine.”

“What about him?”

“Why is it here?” Kaz almost paused, but seemed to think better of it, “And how did it even get here? Where did you find a wolf?”

It was only when the noise, a low rumble under the noise of the fire and their voices, stopped with Nina’s hand on the beast’s head, that Kaz realized it had been a growl rather than the sound of a boat or something in the distance. This was about when he began wondering if he should be a little more concerned and a little less exasperated.

“His name is Trassel, I found him in Fjerda. He stays.”

Something in her eyes brooked no disagreement, and Kaz nodded, approaching gingerly and sitting in the chair furthest from her at her little sitting area. “Fine. Just don’t get in trouble with him. If you’re feeling up for it, I have a job for you.”

Two sets of ears pricked up, two sets of eyes gleamed with twin delight at a diversion, despite Nina’s best efforts to hide her interest, “Go on.”


End file.
